This new poinsettia cultivar, `718` originated as an induced self-branching sport of a seedling known as `L-41` in inventor's greenhouse in Encinitas, Calif. `L-41` is a proprietary plant and there are no specimens in the public domain. `718` was selected because of its bright, rich red flower bracts, dark green foliage, self-branching characteristics, and natural flowering after Dec. 1 in Encinitas, Calif. under natural daylight conditions; traits which distinguish it from other poinsettia cultivars, and seem to make it a desirable plant for commercial greenhouse production. After seslection, `718` was vegetatively reproduced from stem cuttings for test purposes in Encinitas, Calif. By subjecting clones of this plant to successive generations of vegetative propagation, it was demonstrated that the distinctive characteristics of `718` held true from generation to generation.